


watch me burn across the sky

by gracetheworld



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Genius Harry Potter, Harry Potter & Tom Riddle Attend Hogwarts Together, James Potter & Lily Evans Potter Live, M/M, Master of Death (Harry Potter), No Bashing, Polyamory, Prophecy, Seer James Potter, Slytherin Harry Potter, Summoning, The Deathly Hallows, Tom is done with the potters, Triwizard Tournament, familiar harry potter, i feel bad for tom and harry having to deal with the chaos that is the marauders + lily, insane potter family, the marauders + lily + snape is my favourite poly ship fight me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:48:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21936958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracetheworld/pseuds/gracetheworld
Summary: When Tom did the summoning ritual to bond himself with his life-long, destined familiar, he (and every single person in the school) had expected to be bonded with a demon, or at least a dragon. Yet, what, or rather who, greeted him from within the summoning circle was a surprise of the bad kind. Instead of a demon or a dragon, he had somehow become the first person to summon anotherwizardto become his familiar.And not only was his new familiar a wizard, he was also Tom's most hated, infuriating rival,Harry James Potter.Of course, he should have counted Potter to ruin his future plans that he had meticulously planned.No matter, though. He would make do with Potter. He would make Harry Potter into the greatest familiar there is, great and powerful enough to defeat Death, and n turn Tom would be known as the Greatest Wizard of all time, the Defeater of Death— Lord Voldemort.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter/Severus Snape/Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, James Potter/Severus Snape, Lily Evans Potter/Severus Snape, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Remus Lupin/James Potter, Remus Lupin/Lily Evans Potter, Remus Lupin/Severus Snape, Sirius Black/James Potter, Sirius Black/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Sirius Black/Severus Snape
Comments: 39
Kudos: 412





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting a non-crossover Harry Potter fic, I hope that you guys like it! ><

_“You will forever be bound to Death, Tom Marvolo Riddle. No matter what your name might be, no matter what life you live, you will always be bound to me, body and soul, and you will always return to me at the very End.”_

Harsh gasp escaped his lips when dark, reddish brown eyes snapped open. Weakly, the previously sleeping body rose from the bed, uneven breathing trying to even out after what could be nothing else but a nightmare, one that had been recurring over and over for as long as he remembered. Trembling right hand slowly clutched the fabric covering his chest, faintly feeling the quickened beating of his heart.

As his hyper driven mind calmed down, allowing for clearer thoughts to filter in once more, his eyes hardened, flashing red for a moment. The hand clutching on his shirt tightened its grip, and a small, barely audible growl escaped his lips.

Tom Marvolo Riddle would one day escape Death, defeat it and overcome it. Death would have no choice but let go of his bounds to Tom. He would live forever; he would be _immortal_ , no matter what it takes.

Death couldn’t take him. What Tom wanted, he would _get_.

**.**

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, Wizardry, and Summoning was the most prestigious magic school in the world of magic. Located in the northern land of the United Kingdom, the school had produced witches and wizards of the highest pedigree, such as Albus Dumbledore, who had defeated the Dark Lord Gellert Grindewald years and years ago, Newt Scarmander, the most famous magizoologist in the world, and Severus Snape, the youngest Potions Master in the world.

The school was founded by four exceptional witches and wizards of all times, and their names immortalized as the names of the four houses within the school itself now: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house had their own defining traits, and as such, it was not surprising that the trait differences would have caused house rivalry between the four houses; most especially between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Yet, to the Slytherin’s annoyance, it seemed that Harry James Potter did not receive that particular memo, seeing as even after five years of having been sorted into the house of serpents, the boy had still consorted with the lions. Perhaps, it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise, seeing as Potter’s parents were Gryffindors themselves, as well as his godfather, yet it still irked the Slytherins, nonetheless.

(How the boy had gotten himself sorted into the house of the cunning, no one could ever quite figure it out.)

Yet, more than simply feeling annoyance towards the boy, the King of Slytherin was infuriated. How could he not, when Harry Potter was probably the only person within not only the Slytherin House, but the whole Hogwarts, that could rival him despite being two years younger than Tom himself? Oh, Harry Potter would have been a great addition to his inner circle, to the group he was building from within Hogwarts, if not for the fact that the boy always acted like a fool.

No one would contest the fact that Harry Potter was powerful and talented, a prodigy much like Tom was. Yet he was branded as a fool within Slytherin, for not only was he consorting with people of other houses (Gryffindor to boot!), he was also the only person within the house to openly oppose Tom Riddle, the King of Slytherin, the heir of the founder himself.

Powerful, but foolish.

Harry Potter infuriated Tom.

“Look at the fool… interacting with the blood traitor Weasley and mudblood Granger again, sitting in the Gryffindor’s table... One would have thought that he would have done better as a Gryffindor than a Slytherin!” Abraxas heated muttering was met with a sound of agreement from Tom’s inner circle. “How he ended up in Slytherin is a wonder!”

“He could have done better and become a proper Slytherin if only he chose his friends wisely.” Rosier pointed out blandly. “It must have been his Gryffindor relatives’ influence.”

“Oh, enough about Potter already! We’ve been complaining about him for five years! The other Slytherins know it, the rest of Hogwarts know it, the professors know it, and even Potter himself knows it!” Avery grumbled. “We could have been talking about something more important than Potter’s well-known foolishness! Like, the summoning ritual we’re going to attempt today! We’re going to summon our very own familiars!”

Soon, Potter was shoved out of their minds; the more intriguing topic of the summoning ritual every seventh years all over the world would do invading their conversation. Tom listened as the Slytherins debated on what kind of familiars were better, and boasting about themselves getting a superior familiar compared to the others. Tom did not say anything, not wanting to be involved in such an inane conversation. He knew what kind of familiar he would get.

“Someone like you would definitely get a demon of some kind to be your familiar, Riddle. It’s the only logical answer, with how powerful you are…” Dolohov commented, almost reverently. A small smirk graced Tom’s lips once he heard Dolohov’s words.

“Yes, there is no doubt in that, is there?”

He would summon the most powerful demon of all, and then he would proceed with his plans; his plans to change the world, and escape Death forever.

**.**

Except, for some _unknown_ reason, it wasn’t a demon he summoned. No, it wasn’t even some kind of dragon or any other magical creatures, _no_.

Tom knew he had drawn the summoning circle perfectly, etched every rune without a single mistake with his more than remarkable penmanship. He had followed the instructions from top to bottom without disregarding a _single_ word, and _yet_ —

How was this possible? This should have not been possible at all. There was no record of something like this ever happening in the history of summoning magic, _none at all_. This must be a mistake, but _Tom Riddle_ would _never_ make a mistake. Tom prided himself in doing everything he did _immaculately_ , without a single fault in what he did, and _yet_ —

“How the _fuck_ does this happen?! This shouldn’t be possible!” It wasn’t his voice that said those words, but it seemed the both of them shared the same sentiment regarding the situation they found themselves in (though the other had been quite crass while voicing the utter ridiculousness of the situation). “The summoning ritual would have only allowed a summoner to summon a magical creature! At most, it would allow a summoner to summon demons or even minor gods! It wouldn’t allow summoners to summon a boggart or a dementor and _most definitely not another human!_ ”

“Yes, this… this is quite a predicament, the first one to be recorded ever.” Even Dumbledore seemed troubled with the turn of events, the usual twinkle in his eyes not present as his blue eyes swept between Tom and the… the _person_ he summoned back and forth. “However… seeing as a rune carved itself on you upon being summoned here… it is safe to assume that the familiar contract has been sealed, and thus, you are now Mr. Riddle’s familiar… Mr. Potter.”

Yes, his familiar, of all beings in this world, was _Harry bloody Potter_.

It was _unfathomable_! _Impossible_!

How did this happen?!

“The _fuck_! What in the _bloody fucking hell_?!” Potter seemed absolutely pissed, green eyes glaring at Dumbledore for a bit before switching to Tom. “This is _your_ _bloody fault_! You must have botched up the ritual, somehow!”

“I did _not_.” Tom gritted his teeth in annoyance, angry that he was accused of making a mistake by his own rival… who was now his familiar. If there was one good thing that came out from this troublesome situation, it was the fact that he could now say that he was above Potter in station.

“He indeed did not botch up the ritual, Mr. Potter.”

“ _GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!_ ”

Tom tuned out Potter, letting the raven haired boy curse out every deity out there while Tom contemplated his new… familiar. Potter was strong, but compared to dragons and _demons_ , surely Potter paled in comparison.

He needed a strong familiar to compete in the upcoming Triwizard Tournament. He needed to _win_ the tournament. Winning the tournament would be the first step towards his goal, and he couldn’t let the fact that Potter being his familiar ruin that for him.

Well then, if that was the case, Tom would have no choice but whip up Potter to his standards.

“It’s very curious, though.” Tom glanced towards Dumbledore, who was still watching Harry’s angry tirade with a solemn expression. “The rune of your contract with young Harry… the mark of ‘Sowilo’, that was a rare contract rune.” Now, Tom’s interest was piqued. “There was no recorded case of any familiar ever getting a ‘Sowilo’ rune before… at least not just that rune alone. The rune is always paired up with runes like gebō, wunjō, jera, hagalaz, or perƥ, but never alone.”

Tom’s eyes flicked back to Potter, who was _still not done_ with his angry tirade.

Dumbledore chuckled in amusement. “Well, it seemed you two would make quite a unique pair, Mr. Riddle. There is no doubt that you two would create history.”

Tom scoffed, not deigning to answer his professor. There was no need, Tom knew that he’d create history.

As much as Tom hated Potter, Tom was born for greatness, and he would make sure that even with a familiar like Potter, he would carve himself into history—

— and then, he would make himself immortal.

He could see it: Tom Marvolo Riddle—no, Lord Voldemort, the greatest wizard alive and the defeater of Death.

**.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for everyone who have read, kudo'd, subscribed, and bookmarked this fic! I love you all!!! 💖💖💖

The first week after the summoning ritual, all seventh years were allowed a week off to allow their bonds with their respective familiars to settle down. It was recommended for the masters and their familiars to stay somewhere secluded during the first week of the bond forming to allow the bond to settle without much interference, seeing as a secluded place meant less chaos to disturb the bond. Due to this, seventh year students usually either went back to their homes or stayed over in their friends’ homes during the week.

Tom, as an orphan who lived in a muggle orphanage, would have been part of the second group, if it weren’t for his… familiar.

“Since Mr. Potter is your familiar now, Mr. Riddle, I’ve taken the initiative to ask the Potter family to allow you residence with them for the week, and they have agreed to it!” Dumbledore, the meddling old coot, had apparently arranged something else for them. Tom scowled, not liking the fact that he couldn’t just decline the offer, seeing as one) he was playing the teacher’s pet, and two) Potter would have just as much say in this decision as himself (because Potter, despite being Slytherin, seemed to be the old man’s favourite student), and he would definitely love to come back home.

So, putting on a fake smile (that he knew would never fool both Dumbledore and Potter, who for some Merlin damned reason, could see through his masterfully crafted facade), he accepted the offer. “That sounds wonderful, headmaster.” He said with a tone so sweet he wanted to gag.

Hearing the sound of Potter fake gagging and Dumbledore’s eyes twinkling in amusement, he knew that his demeanor fooled no one.

One day, he would kill both Dumbledore and Potter, consequences be damned.

* * *

The Potter family was… strange, in a way unlike Potter, but somehow explained Potter’s entire personality, anyways. Potter’s immediate family was made up of his mother and father, but apparently his godfather and one of his uncle practically lived in the house nowadays, anyways—or so Potter said when he was explaining about his family members to Tom.

Upon meeting them, Tom had an internal debate of who was more insane, the mother or the father?

“Welcome home, little master~! And oh, you must be the little conqueror! It’s nice to meet you!” Mr. Potter, greeted him whilst grabbing his hand and shaking it excitedly. Tom blinked a few times as the nicknames Mr. Potter used to refer to Potter and himself slowly registered into his mind. Before Tom could say anything else, Mr. Potter had turned to his son, raising an eyebrow. “Why do you look so pissed, Harry? You knew this would happen sooner or later.”

… what?

“I know! But—but doesn’t mean that I have to like it!” Potter grumbled, glaring once again for the nth time at Tom (Tom had honestly lost count). Tom replied that look with a glare of disdain of his own. “And with Riddle of all people?!”

“I will have you know that any other students would have been honoured to be my familiar. Avery and Nott told me themselves.” Tom drawled, a little offended by how Potter spoke of him, as if Tom was the worst thing to walk Earth, ever (if it weren’t for the existence of Albus Dumbledore, Tom would have said that Potter’s the worst thing to ever walk Earth). “You’ve always been foolish to not know a blessing when it is right in your face.” Perhaps, he shouldn’t have insulted the son of the family that was currently housing him, but Potter had always managed to get on his nerve without fail.

Rather than sounding offended, Mr. Potter snorted, as if agreeing with Tom. The words coming out of his lips next just confirmed it for Tom. “Well, that’s true enough, I suppose.”

_“Dad!”_

“Now, now, James.” A melodic, definitely feminine voice interrupted, sounding incredibly amused. The amused voice was revealed to belong to Mrs. Potter, who looked as amused as she sounded, her green eyes (that were so much like Potter’s, yet also so different) sweeping between both Tom and Potter. “Let the two sort out their lover’s quarrel themselves without us having to intervene.”

_What._

_“Mum!”_

“You’re right, Lily. I shouldn’t be intervening with young love.”

“Merlin, you two are _embarrassing_!” Potter’s face was red, but much to Tom’s surprise, Potter’s expression was apologetic when he looked at Tom, as if apologizing for his parents’… _extraordinary_ attitude. “Anyways, Riddle, this is my dad, James, and my mum, Lily. I’m sure you’ve figured that out. I’d apologize for their… quirky welcome, but I can’t, because this is how they act every single time.”

Mr. Potter pouted, circling an arm around his son. “Now, now, little master, don’t be so mean to your mum and dad!” He whined not unlike a five years old who was not given the candy he wanted. “You'd miss us if we’re gone, anyways!”

For some reason, Tom noted, that caused Potter to stiffen and the temperature of the room to decrease several degrees. Mr. Potter’s eyes widened as soon as he realized what he had just said, and Mrs. Potter glared at her husband, while Potter himself was unresponsive. Mr. Potter was about to babble an apology to Potter, but Tom decided to interrupt. Perhaps a change of topic would diffuse the situation instead.

“Mr. Potter, I would like to ask about something you said just moments ago. You said that your son knew that he would… be someone’s familiar, sooner or later?” How could the Potters knew about that? There had been no case like this ever recorded! Was the potential always there in the Potter’s bloodline, and that was why they knew this would somehow happen? No, it couldn’t be. The Potter’s bloodline was well known throughout the wizarding world, and it was not the potential of a Potter becoming a familiar. Potter’s bloodline had something to do with the being they summoned. Every member of the Potter family would always summon and bond to a grim reaper without fail.

So, it must have been something else.

What was it?

Mr. Potter smiled. “I’m a seer, I saw this long time coming. I, of course, told Harry before he started Hogwarts.” He explained. “My visions aren’t the clearest, but when they are, I could remember them to the littlest detail—the vision regarding Harry becoming someone’s familiar wasn’t one of them, unfortunately, so I did not know that it was you who would be Harry’s partner.”

Tom resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow at the term. ‘Partner’, and not ‘Master’. Generally, wizards viewed their familiars as servants, so they of course, refer to themselves as ‘master’, yet Mr. Potter deliberately used the term ‘partner’ instead. Either it was because he did not like to call his own son a servant, or… or he saw something else in the future that made him refer to Tom and Potter’s bond as more than just a ‘master-servant’ bond.

Tom quickly shoved the latter thought into the deepest corner of his mind. Potter was nothing more than Tom’s servant, Tom’s familiar. Mr. Potter probably just loathed calling his son anyone’s servant.

(Though, the enigmatic smile both Mr. and Mrs. Potter wore did not ease Tom’s mind at all.)

Potter cleared his throat, obviously not wanting the topic at hand to continue. “Mum, dad, where’s Padfoot and Moony? Wouldn’t it be better if we get the introduction out of the way sooner rather than later?” Potter looked like he wanted to be anywhere but _here_ , and even shot Tom another annoyed glare, as if accusing Tom that Tom was at fault for all of this happening.

— Which was silly, because Tom never asked Potter to be his familiar, and if what Mr. Potter had said was true, than Potter should have known that something like this would have happened sooner or later, and he was the only one to be blamed for not being prepared.

“Right! Come along then, Mr. Riddle, Harry. Sirius and Remus are waiting in the family room.” Mr. Potter gestured for the two teens to follow him and Mrs. Potter.

If Mr. and Mrs. Potter were strange, the two other adults that Potter said would be living with them were… childish. How could he say otherwise, when the first thing he saw of Potter’s godfather and uncle, surrounded by a lot of chocolate wrappers strewn all around them without care, were of the two of them fighting over the last piece of chocolate.

“Padfoot, get off! This chocolate is mine!”

“Finders, keepers, Moony! _You_ get off!”

Glancing to his left, he saw Potter sighing and rubbing his temple in frustration. Mr. and Mrs. Potter just laughed. This must have been an everyday scene in the Potter household, then. It was so… carefree.

(Unlike the orphanage.)

“Alright, that’s it. Boys, settle down!” Mrs. Potter chided the two squabbling overgrown children. To Tom’s amazement, the two _did_ stop squabbling, looking like five years old who had been fighting were scolded by their parents or teacher. “Our guest has arrived.” As if on cue, the two quickly scrambled to stand beside Mr. Potter. “Mr. Riddle, you’ve met me and my husband, James. Well, this,” Mrs. Potter gestured to the raven haired man wearing a leather jacket, who was looking at him intently, like he was trying to figure out Tom’s intent and all. “This is Sirius Black, James’ husband.”

Tom blinked. _‘What?’_

Mrs. Potter then gestured towards the other man, who must be Potter’s uncle, since Potter told him that Sirius Black was Potter’s godfather. “And this is Remus, Sirius’ husband.”

Tom blinked once more. _‘What?’_

Mrs. Potter did not stop, and gestured to a closed door, “And that there is my and Remus’ shared spouse,” a fond smile spread across Mrs. Potter and Lupin’s lips, “The _library_.”

Potter groaned out loud, as if he had expected his mother to pull something like this since the beginning. “You actually did it.”

Mrs. Potter giggled. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”

Mr. Potter cackled. “We should introduce ourselves like that again next time we meet someone new.”

Tom, as much as he would never admit, couldn’t help but feel a little scared of Potter’s family.

Potter actually looked at him with a look of pity, a look that all but said _‘I’m sorry you have to deal with this madness for a week.’_

Tom did not know whether to thank Potter or murder him for that.

(Or pity him, since Potter had to deal with his family for fifteen years already and ongoing.)

This was going to be a long week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the second chapter! 
> 
> We now have introduced the Marauders! Expect more of them to appear in the future, because I love them so much. Especially James. _Definitely James_. 
> 
> ~~When your favourite character is the man who died before the series even started *sighs*~~
> 
> Next chapter, more chaos from the marauders, more Harry and Tom trying to deal with the insanity that is the Marauders.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter came out late! It was my exam period the past few weeks sajaghaghs  
> Anyways, thank you for all your support! Enjoy this chapter!!!

Living with the Potter family was… different.

Living in the orphanage was just a pain. Tom loathed living with those no good muggles who thought of themselves as superiors to Tom, when it was actually the other way around.

Living in Slytherin was… not living, but rather surviving. Even though Tom was the undisputed Slytherin King (Potter, whom was the only possible contender, had no interest in even being involved with the Slytherin Court), Tom still had to be cautious as to not let himself be caught off guard by a weakling. Even the strongest wizard could fall to the weakest when caught off guard.

Living with the Potter family, though… was _different_.

Tom didn’t know if it was because the Potter family (barring Potter Jr.) were Gryffindors through and through, or if it was the quirky attitude of the Potter family, but there was never a quiet, boring day when it came to the eccentric family. It was as if the Potter family did not understand the meaning of a quiet day at all.

Tom, who had never lived in a place quite like the Potters’ household was… bewildered.

“You’re hiding in the library. Don’t tell me you’re _overwhelmed_.” Potter’s voice took a teasing tone at the end, which only served to tick Tom off, not that he’d show it to the Slytherin-Gryffindor hybrid. “Merlin, did my family really managed to overwhelm _you_?” Potter asked, looking as if he was holding in his laughter.

He probably is, the _brat_.

Tom glared at him, warning him off. Any other person, that glare would have worked.

Not on Potter though, never on Potter.

The boy was annoying like that.

“I am _not_ overwhelmed.” For some reason, Potter did not seem like he believed Tom at all. “Stop living in your own, imaginary world, Potter.”

“I think it’s the other way around, actually. Stop denying, Riddle~!” The shit eating grin on Potter was so infuriating that Tom really wished that there was such a thing as a spell that would wipe that grin off Potter’s face.

Well, there was, but they weren’t legal, and he had no doubt that the Potters wouldn’t appreciate the Dark Arts being used in their house. The Potter family weren’t exactly light family, but they weren’t dark either. It had something to do with their affinity with Death magic, which fell into neither category.

“Are you here to bother me?” Tom made sure that his tone clearly implied that he wanted to be left alone, because at least he knew that Potter, unlike his family, would understand such subtlety. Potter had managed to get himself sorted into Slytherin, after all.

Though for some Merlin-damned reason, Potter chose now of all time to ignore his Slytherin instincts and imitate his Gryffindor family. “And if I am?”

The blunt way it was, then. “Go away, Potter.”

“Last time I checked, this was my family’s library.” Potter stated dryly, taking a sit beside Tom. “I understand though. My family could be too much for people like us, sometimes. It’s not that weird.” He took a random book out of Tom’s to-read pile, scanning the title on the cover, before putting it back on the pile. “They’ll understand if you just tell them that you’re overwhelmed.”

“I’m _not._ ” Tom gritted his teeth. “And any attempts I’ve tried to get them to back off were ignored.”

Potter snickered. “Riddle, they’re _Gryffindors_ , you’ve got to be blunt.” He pointed out. “Subtlety went over their heads. Even mum’s and Moony’s.”

“You should teach them about subtlety, then.”

“You think I haven’t?”

Tom sighed, knowing that Potter probably did try to teach his family on the fine art of subtlety… and failing at it.

“… You haven’t told me why you are here.” Tom decided to change the subject, knowing that they’d never get anywhere if they continued their previous line of discussion, and Tom definitely did not need to listen to Potter insisting that Tom was overwhelmed by Potter’s family, which he wasn’t.

Potter’s expression brightened. “Oh, that’s right! Dad offered to teach us a dueling! That is—a master-familiar dueling! We haven’t practiced any of that, and as much as I hate being your familiar, I think it’s good for us to know how to work with each other.” Potter grimaced. He looked reluctant, and Tom was feeling the same too.

But Potter was right. They had to learn on how to work together during duels and battles, because if they weren’t in sync with each other, it might prove fatal for either of them, and Tom couldn’t have that if he wanted to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He and Potter had to be the best.

Tom smirked. “Are you sure you’d be able to fight demons and dragons or even minor gods without pissing your pants, Potter?” He wouldn’t blame Potter if he was scared to face such beings. After all, Potter was just a human, and most humans were weak compared to such beings.

Then again, Tom knew he was far greater than demons or dragons or minor gods, and Potter was the only person he had ever acknowledged to be a rival, so Potter was more likely equal in power to those beings. If they did manage to work together in duels…

They could be _unstoppable_.

“Hey, Riddle?” Potter’s voice brought him back out of his thoughts.

Tom nodded sharply. “Well then, let’s not make your father wait, shall we?”

* * *

Tom had never seen a grim reaper before. He had seen demon familiars, dragon familiars, and even minor gods, but he had never met anyone with a grim reaper familiar before… until Mr. Potter, that is. And by gods, he could feel the power rolling out of both Mr. Potter and the grim reaper.

No wonder the Potters were feared and revered as one of the strongest families. Their tendency to summon grim reapers as their familiar showed their strength. It was rare, once in a blue moon occurrence when someone not from the Potter family summon grim reapers. Even the great Slytherin family, more often than not, only managed to summon minor gods at most.

Tom had no doubt that Potter, had he never been summoned to be Tom’s familiar, would have summoned a grim reaper too when he reached his seventh year in Hogwarts. Though it would probably be unlikely for Potter to ever do a summoning ritual now.

Tom would have felt sorry for Potter, but Potter was already strong enough, and Tom did not want Potter to grow even stronger, especially not when the Potter right now would not follow Tom like the rest of the Slytherins. He could only imagine a Potter who hadn’t become his familiar growing up and becoming Tom’s enemy. It would only make Tom’s journey to achieve his goals even harder.

Well then, if there was something good coming out of this whole master-familiar mess, it would be that Potter having to follow Tom’s order from now on.

“As partners, both the wizard and familiar should be able to work together. Most of the times, this kind of thing comes naturally to both the wizard and familiar.” Mr. Potter said. “However, the two of you are probably different, especially since you two are a unique case. So that’s why we will be testing your ability to work together right now!”

As Mr. Potter fell into his dueling stance, Tom took it as cue to do so as well. A brief glance at Potter, he saw Potter doing the same.

“You two have an advantage of having known each other for a while. I’m sure both of you had seen each other’s dueling style, right?” Mr. Potter looked at both Tom and Potter with an expectant, raised brow. A nod from each of them confirmed Mr. Potter’s question for him. “Then, use that knowledge to beat my familiar and I. Now, bow.”

This was the standard dueling rule. Both Tom and Potter bowed, almost in perfect sync.

“On the count of three. One… two… _three_!”

What came next was a surprise to Tom.

Yes, he had seen the way Potter dueled before, and Potter had seen him duel as well. Both of them had a large repertoire of spells to be used in duels too. Yet, he had never expected that it would be so… easy to fell into a pattern when it came to working together with Potter. He had expected more struggles, more conflicts between the two of them, more missteps and mid-dueling arguments where they’d shout at each other for getting in their way.

Yet, for some reason, that was not what happened. It was as if the both of them knew instinctively what to do to compliment each other’s moves. It was like the both of them were destined to work together. It was as if he knew everything about Potter, and Potter him—which he knew could not be true, because Tom certainly did not know everything about Potter, despite acting as if he did.

They were truly in sync.

From the look Mr. Potter was giving them, it did not seem like he was surprised. Could it be that he had seen how well they worked together in his visions?

Most likely.

Though, that being said, even with how easy it was for Tom and Potter to work together, Mr. Potter and his familiar weren’t an easy opponent to defeat. Not only did Mr. Potter had about two decades more experience than Tom or Potter, Mr. Potter and his familiar were as in sync as Tom and Potter was.

It was infuriating.

Tom had never dueled anyone and losing.

He would not let this be his first time losing a duel.

Except Potter, being the stupid, Slytherin-Gryffindor hybrid that he was, decided to push Tom out of the way of an incoming, unfamiliar spell that Tom was sure he could block (despite said spell being unfamiliar) and got himself thrown off the dueling platform. Not to mention that with Mr. Potter’s rapid casting, Tom had barely managed to conjure a shield to block the next spell, so it broke easily, allowing for a simple disarming spell to hit Tom instead, while Mr. Potter’s familiar managed to catch him off guard from behind, stopping Tom with its scythe.

Bloody. _Potter_.

“Why did you push me? I could have blocked that spell!” Tom hissed at Potter, only barely holding himself from slipping into parseltongue.

Potter rolled his eyes. “That spell was dad’s own invention. I knew what shielding charm you were about to use, and trust me, it wouldn’t hold. I’ve used the same shielding charm you were about to use against that spell, and the shielding charm was shattered easily.” The younger teen reasoned.

Tom blinked. The shielding charm he was about to use was one of the strongest, and was a borderline dark spell. What kind of spell did Mr. Potter invent that would be able to shatter such charm easily?

As if sensing Tom’s unasked question, Mr. Potter explained. “It was a spell Sirius, Remus, Lily, Severus and I specifically created to destroy even the strongest shield charm. It is most effective to be used during rapid casting.” He grinned.

Tom blinked. “Severus? As in… Severus Snape?” He asked. “I wasn’t aware that your family is close to him.” After all, Snape was a Slytherin to the core. He couldn’t imagine a family that was the epitome of Gryffindor like the Potters being close to someone like Snape.

Mr. Potter grinned mischievously. “We go way back.”

Tom wasn’t sure he wanted to know what that grin meant.

A look at Potter, who was sighing exasperatedly, told Tom that he really did not want, nor needed, to know.

* * *

Mrs. Potter’s family introduction on his first day in this household might have held more truth than one would assume, despite it being a joke, Tom mused (he'd been musing a lot when it came to the Potter family, it seemed. More so today since it was his last day here) as he watched the Mr. and Mrs. Potter interacting with Black and Lupin. Instead of two separate couples, they acted more like the four of them were in a polyamorous relationship instead.

Just look at them right now. Mr. Potter was feeding a still half-asleep Black affectionately, while Mrs. Potter and Lupin were giggling at their respective partners.

Tom had to wonder…

“Potter, your parents and godfathers… are they… actually in a four-way relationship?” Because no matter how Tom looked at it, that was the only possible explanation on how affectionate the adults of the Potter family were with each other, and when Tom said ‘affectionate’, he meant the romantic kind.

(He might have also caught Mr. Potter and Black kissing last night in the living room, and Lupin and Mrs. Potter were there too.

Tom, who at that time was returning to his room after spending the whole evening in the library, would like to have that image scrubbed off his head.)

Potter blinked, surprised at the admittedly, surprisingly blunt question from Tom.

In reply, Potter mumbled something, but it was too small that it was practically inaudible, which made Tom annoyed. “Speak louder, I can’t hear you.”

“ … ve.” Potter mumbled once more, before speaking more clearly. “It’s more like a five-way relationship…”

Tom blinked. “Are you talking about the library?” He asked, referencing Mrs. Potter’s probably-not-a-joke introduction.

(Though Tom had a feeling that the mysterious fifth was, in fact, not the library.)

Potter shook his head. “Uh, no. That person’s juts not here right now. He’s… teaching.”

Tom’s eyes widened. There was only one professor in Hogwarts right now that was about, if not the same age as the Potter Household’s adult, and Mr. Potter had mentioned that they and said person had gone way back after their first wizard-familiar duel practice.

No, it couldn’t be.

“You’re joking.”

“Nope. You’ve met Sevvie, mum’s other husband.”

Tom barely managed to hold back a groan. He settled with a tired comment instead. “Your family is crazy.”

Potter snorted. “Oh, believe me, I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I love you all.  
> And yes, the marauders + lily + snape is just one big poly and i am living for this ship.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is slowly devolving into crack, what have I done sdkfjdhfd  
> Okay, I promise the chapters after this one will be more serious, since we're starting to enter the actual plot!  
> Thank you so much to everyone who have read, kudo'ed, bookmarked, subscribed to this fic! I'm sorry for the delay, my uni gave me a lot of projects to do this term sdjsdhjdf

Returning to Hogwarts was a relief to Tom. The Potters were friendly, but really, they were far too… much for Tom’s taste. The friendliness was too much that it had almost suffocate Tom— not that he would ever admit that to anyone, of course. That kind of weakness could not be revealed to anyone.

… Except Potter, because Potter was there and Tom knew that Potter noticed. Then again, Potter was apparently really destined to be his familiar anyway, so it wasn’t like Potter could just tell anyone of Tom’s dislike for over friendliness. A weakness to the master was a weakness to the familiar, after all.

“Will you stop thinking that I am lesser than you.” Potter. who somehow knew what Tom was thinking despite Tom's formidable occlumency shield, hissed at Tom. Surprisingly, it almost sounded like parseltongue, though not quite. Did becoming Tom’s familiar gave Potter a little bit of Tom’s own personal traits? Such as being a parseltongue? Or maybe not a parseltongue, just the habit of making his tone quite sibilant.

Tom smirked. “But you are my familiar, and I am your master.” The taller of the two pointed out smugly. Tom was never going to let this one down. This was the only thing he could hold over the younger teen.

“We’re supposed to be partners. Equals.” Potter retorted, crossing his arms in annoyance. “Or did dad pointing that out many times go over your thick skull?”

“I do not have a thick skull.”

“Could have sworn you have the thickest of them all, seeing how stubborn you are about me being beneath you!”

Potter was practically foaming at his mouth right now. Tom would make sure to save this memory so that he could take a look at it in pensieve anytime he wanted. Potter was easily annoyed by him, sure, and Potter’s short temper was infamous. Still— seeing him like this while being unable to retaliate because he was Tom’s familiar now was incredibly amusing. Before, Potter would have hexed him, but now?

“Harry!” The voices of Potter’s Gryffindor best friends pulled Tom out of his thoughts. Weasley and Granger had jumped on Harry as soon as they were close enough and… piled on him. Such a childish notion, and they were supposed to be _fifth_ years. Gryffindors, honestly. “We missed you!”

“It’s only been a week!” Potter protested weakly, and Tom had to agree. It had only been a week, how would Potter’s best friends miss him already?

“Still, classes are boring without you, and we haven’t had any with you in the past week! Classes with the Slytherins without you were unbearable!” Weasley complained, pulling himself away so that the three of them could stand up. “Malfoy the younger was especially annoying.”

“Oof.” Potter winced in sympathy.

Surely, Abraxas’ younger brother couldn’t be that bad, could he?

“Did you just say oof in real life? Harry, you’ve spent too much time in the internet.” Granger pointed out exasperatedly. “Stop bringing gen z slang into verbal conversation.”

Potter did actually do that, didn’t he? Tom swore if Potter dared use any internet slangs in verbal conversation with him, or even reply to Tom with a meme reference, Tom would hex him hard until he regret it. Lord Voldemort would not tolerate being made fun off with memes, not even from his familiar.

As if sensing what Tom was thinking (seriously, how did Potter do that?), Potter sent him a mischievous look. Tom glared at him. “Do not.”

“Keep calling yourself my master and I will only speak to you in memes.” Potter threatened.

That wouldn’t do. Tom could not have a familiar who only speak in memes. He’d be the center of laughter and Lord Voldemort did not appreciate being laughed at. Potter was driving a really hard bargain.

“Talking about the master-familiar thing… how did that even happen, Harry?” Tom would never admit it out loud, but he was grateful for Granger’s curiousity at the moment. It helped change the subject, kind of. He was sure Harry wouldn’t let his bargain left forgotten anytime soon, though. “Magic circle just appeared under you during History of Magic and then you were gone!”

“The next thing we knew, Headmaster Dumbledore told us that you are now Riddle’s familiar! There’s never been a human familiar in the history of magic!” Weasley joined in, looking back and forth between Potter and Tom, expecting one of them to have the answer.

Tom smirked. So Potter never told his best friends that he knew he’d be someone’s familiar since before entering Hogwarts? That would mean that Potter did not trust his best friends as much as it had seemed.

“I don’t really know how,” Potter started, shrugging helplessly. “But I did know that I’d eventually become a familiar. Dad told me as much.” Potter did not clarify how Mr. Potter know, so it was safe to assume that both Granger and Weasley know about Mr. Potter’s… talent.

“And you didn’t tell us?!” Granger certainly looked offended. If Tom had a deeper understanding about emotions and human relations and had friends like Potter who hid this kind of thing from him, Tom would certainly be offended as well.

“It never came up, and there were too many people in Hogwarts that someone could have overheard if we talked about something as sensitive as this!” Potter tried to defend himself. “It’s not that I’m ashamed to be a familiar, I’ve accepted my role a long time ago, but I just don’t want people to know how I know.”

This time, Granger and Weasley looked more understanding.

Tom supposed he couldn’t fault Potter. Potter was probably just protecting his father.

“Then,” this time, Weasley turned towards Tom. “Are you both going to sign up for the annual Triwizard Tournament?”

“Of course.” Tom answered without missing a beat. That had been his plan before Potter became his familiar, and that wouldn’t change just because Potter was his familiar now.

Weasley looked at both of them in awe. Granger’s expression held a mixture of awe and concern (most definitely for Potter), and Potter was gaping at Tom. Ah, had he neglected telling Potter about his plans? _Whoops_.

“You did not tell me anything about _that_.” Potter’s voice was weak, as if wanting to protest but knowing that there was no way that Tom was going to back down from his decision.

“Must have slipped my mind.” Tom drawled, not even feeling a speck of sorry for Potter. Potter had ruined a lot of Tom’s plans just by becoming his familiar, after all. The least Potter could do was go along with Tom’s salvageable plans, like winning the tournament.

“This is so cool! Harry, you got to compete in the Triwizard Tournament two years earlier!” Weasley gushed excitedly, shaking his best friend’s body without care.

“If we’re chosen.” Potter retorted, though even he knew that was probably never going to happen.

“Are you kidding, Harry? You and Riddle are practically Hogwart’s strongest! Sure, other seventh years have more exotic familiars compared to you, no offense to you both, but Riddle’s the top student and you, Harry, have the weirdest luck ever!” Granger exclaimed.

“Was that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Hush Harry, stop sassing me. You know it’s true!”

“Doesn’t mean you have to say it!”

As Granger and Potter started arguing back and forth, Tom thought that it was time for him to retreat. Potter would be to engrossed in arguing with Granger to remember about the bargain he offered Tom.

A step back and Tom was proven wrong. “Riddle, don’t you dare go anywhere, we haven’t settled our bargain!”

Tom took back what he said before. Hogwarts was as tiring as the Potter family was if he had to deal with Potter and his friends daily now.

* * *

Being called to Snape’s office was not an irregular occurrence for Tom, who had not only been a prefect during his fifth and sixth year, but also the Head Boy this year. However, knowing now that Snape was one of Potter’s parents, and the fact that the man’s only son was Tom’s familiar, Tom had a feeling that this meeting did not have anything to do with his Head Boy duty.

“Good evening, Mr. Riddle.” The Potion Masters greeted cordially, as he would do with other students. The Potion Masters did have his favourites, but he wasn’t as obvious about it as the other professors. “Have a seat.”

“Good evening, Professor Snape.” Tom replied, taking a seat. “Why have you called me this evening?” He asked, in a tone that told Snape that Tom knew perfectly well why he was being called here, and thus asking Snape to not beat around the bush with exchanging unnecessary pleasantries.

Snape, being the true Slytherin he was, understood perfectly the underlying message.

“I’m sure by now that you know my relation to Mr. Potter.”

“Yes, professor.”

“You will treat Mr. Potter as you’ve always done, despite him being your familiar now.” Snape stated. “He is not your servant, despite being your familiar. I am sure James have repeatedly told you that.”

Tom held himself back from snorting at the warning. Instead, he smiled. “You need not worry about that, professor. Your, ah, son had seen to that.”

“Oh?” Snape seemed interested.

Tom knew that if he did not tell Snape about what happened, Snape would just ask Potter, and knowing Potter and his none too fond feelings towards Tom, Potter would have exaggerate and told the tale in a way that would ridicule Tom, and Tom really couldn’t let that happen.

“Your son threatened to talk to me only in _memes_.” Tom couldn’t help but spat out the last word.

Snape, surprisingly, looked incredibly amused… and proud. “That’s my son.”

Well, Tom couldn’t begrudge Snape for feeling proud. That was positively Slytherin of Potter.

“That isn’t the only thing I want to talk to you about, Mr. Riddle.” Now that gained Tom’s attention. “The Triwizard Tournament is starting soon, and I think all of Hogwarts know that you will be our champion if you do sign up for it.” Tom smirked. Of course he would be Hogwarts’ champion. There was no contest.

But Tom had to keep up his humble image. “Ah, but professor, surely there are other people that could have been chosen—like Diggory.”

“You don’t need to pretend to be humble in front of me, Mr. Riddle.” Snape replied. "We both know that Diggory pales compared to you."

“And where are you going with this, professor?”

“I will… offer my assistance to you and Mr. Potter for now. Until your name is chosen by the goblet of fire, I will train you and Mr. Potter so that you both will be a formidable pair in the tournament.” Snape offered.

Tom raised an eyebrow. Not that Tom was ungrateful, Snape was a powerful wizard after all, but Snape was a Slytherin, and he wouldn’t offer something like this if he did not gain something in return.

Snape’s lips twitched slightly, fully understanding Tom’s silent question. “I’m not doing this for you, Mr. Riddle. I’m only doing this so that Harry can survive the tournament. Seeing as you two are a pair now, it would only be beneficial for Harry if you are trained as well.”

Ah, that was understandable.

Tom nodded. “Very well, professor. I accept.”

“Good. You and Mr. Potter will meet me in the Room of Requirement every Friday after dinner.”

With that, Snape dismissed him.

Shutting the door to Snape’s office behind him, Tom’s lips curled into a smug smile. He was one step closer into being the most powerful wizard in the world. He had heard rumours of Snape being very well versed in the Dark Arts. Perhaps, if he managed to get close enough to Snape, he could ask more things about it…

… even about the ways to become immortal.

Yes, things might have been a little bit bad in the beginning, but things were finally looking up for Tom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this far! I love you all!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this!!! Also, merry christmas, everyone!!!


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